Super Mario Strikers

"Super Mario Slackers"

Is there anything Mario won't do? Just when you thought Nintendo has thinned out its flagship mascot as much as possible, Mushroom Kingdom characters start popping up in EA basketball and snowboarding games. And what's this? Soccer with Mario? No surprise here, but the Mario sports series, once a fun and clever twist on popular games, now feels like a tired, rushed-to-market idea.

Graphics:
In line with the other Mario sports games, Super Mario Strikers attempts to be simple and cute. The characters don't look as crisp as they have in other games, but they still convey a lot of personality. In fact, you'll see a whole new side of Princess Peach, as her flamboyant victory dances and yells will have you growling, "I hate that girl..." But this doesn't feel like your typical Nintendo product. Load times are frequent (though not very long), and the framerate slows down considerably in some areas. One of the available teams is always accompanied with a bad framerate, and for that I never have any desire to play as them. These are common issues in games, but for Nintendo, who managed to build Wind Waker without either, it's disappointing.

Sound:
The lack of good music (or just music in general) only furthers how unpolished Mario Strikers feels. Even though the bright and chipper tunes which have been a staple in all Mario games does get a little annoying, it fits. It's always worked. But Strikers doesn't have that. Soccer matches are without any kind of background melody, and the menu music consists of generic, cheap-sounding guitar riffs. All the squeals and grunts you expect from Mario characters are still present, however, and it's a guilty pleasure hearing one of them wail in pain as they're slammed into the electric boundary.

Gameplay:
That said, Mario Strikers is not your typical soccer game. It's fast, it's brutal, and nobody bothers to throw a flag for foul play. These five-on-five matches encourage you to be rough, whether you're stealing the ball or head butting someone out of the way to prevent a pass from going through. Because there are no rules, the game is easy to get into and enjoy. And it wouldn't be Mario without the inclusion of banana peels and koopa shells. These are useful for quickly stopping someone about to shoot and are earned as a penalty against the other team when they hit a player who doesn't have the ball. Along with this, passing, shooting, and stealing are your primary options. But there's a fair amount of depth to each. A normal pass is easier to recover, but a lobbed pass helps ensure the other team doesn't intercept the ball. And flat-out stealing the ball isn't always as useful as checking somebody and letting the ball roll away.

But if this wasn't already over-the-top enough, you can also charge up your shot and even instigate a super "striker" kick that's even harder for the goalie to block. Bowser will also periodically fall from the sky and terrorize the field. But if these things sound like they would be more of a nuisance than anything, you're in luck. You can turn any of this off in the options menu. Normally, a Nintendo-made game insists that you play it the "real way," but being able to turn certain things off is such a useful and appreciated feature.

Frustration:
One thing you can't do in this game, however, is play as the goalie. He is always controlled by the computer, and he is always unpredictable. Sometimes what you think is going to be an obvious miss goes in, and other times a shot that really shouldn't have made it does. The goalies frequently do stupid things, like not jumping until after the ball hits the net. It would have been nice to have some control over the goalie. I can understand why the game is the way it is, because nobody wants to be the goalie for the entire match. But since Mario Strikers gives you so many other options to turn on and off, why couldn't they have put goalie control in there, as well?

Lasting Appeal:
Another unfortunate thing about this game is its lack of diverse content. There are only a few stadiums and one new character to unlock, and it only takes less than an hour to get them. There's no real difference between stadiums, either. It's odd that a Mario game wouldn't have a few crazy and zany fields on top of the standard ones. What keeps this game going is its terrific multiplayer support. As you would expect, four players can join the foray, and the results are intense and hilarious. You can set up the matches any way you want, too, even pitting all four of you on the same team against the computer. Now that is a sweet option. Working together is a real challenge, too. The computer is no slouch, and the higher difficulties will have you begging for mercy. So while there may not be anything more for you to earn, you'll still have a long ways to go to fully master this game.

Overall:
Super Mario Strikers is one of the more disappointing Mario sports games I've played. It feels incredibly unpolished: the graphical presentation is ho-hum even for Nintendo's standards, and the game offers very few unlockables or even any diversity between stadiums. But it's meant to be a great party game that's easy to pick up and play, and it succeeds on those terms. This is fast, brutal, arcade soccer with a Mario twist. If you play games often with friends, this one's recommended. Otherwise, you won't be missing out on much.

Points:
+ Fast-paced and brutal
+ You can turn off gameplay options
+ AI can be a real challenge
+ Great multiplayer support
-- Goalies are unpredictable
-- Lacks content
-- Feels very unpolished overall

Score: 7.0

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 01/08/07